Twisted
by vandals.and.scandals
Summary: Noel Jackson has a 'drug problem'. Riley is being a rebel. Clara is throwing a fit. And they're going to be spending spring break with their parents' friends' devil's spawn! Fun... NOT! Noel considers his spring ruined, but is it? R&R!
1. In Which Noel Gets Busted

**Okay, I'll admit it, I've been really, really, really lazy. My other story, Camp Mental Institution (which you should really check out, by the way), is still being worked on, I've just lost inspiration. Yeah, two chapters before the end and I've lost inspiration. Who does that? **

**That is why I won't set a regular pace for this one. With CMI I tried to update weekly, here I'm not sure. I've got the first two chapters written out (though mind you they were both written during six hour train rides) and I really hope you like them.**

**WARNING: This is post-HoO. This is about Percy and Annabeth's kids. Most of you are probably saying 'ugh, not **_**again' **_**but please, give this story a chance. I'm giving the teenagers real teenage problems and trying really hard not to make them Mary-Sues. **

**Please, give as much feedback as you can, okay?**

ANNABETH CHASE-JACKSON

There was a dull _thunk_ from behind the dark wooden door. Annabeth Chase frowned, wondering what her son was up to again. She was about to knock and ask, but stopped herself just in time. Noel had friends over; she wouldn't want to disturb them. Laughing followed the thunk. The doorknob turned and Annabeth fled into a nook in the hallway, as not wanting to be seen. That would probably embarrass Noel.

A girl stumbled out, looked like she was about to fall, but regained her composure quickly, then headed to the bathroom. Annabeth could only stare at the girl open-mouthed; all she seemed to have on were a pair of Noel's boxers and a bra. As Annabeth's eyes travelled back to the door, now open a crack, they narrowed as she saw just the smallest whiff of smoke curl up at the side, disappearing almost immediately.

That was enough. She got up and walked past her son's room, making sure to get a good glimpse of what was going on. Needless to say, she did not like what she was seeing. Over in the corner, on Noel's bed, was Noel's friend Garrett, being straddled by a girl in lingerie. Garrett's shirt was nowhere to be seen, his pants as well were missing, and he was grinding fervently against the girl.

And Noel… Noel was sitting in his beanbag chair in the corner, thankfully still fully clothed in sweatpant-like jeans and slightly oversized black t-shirt. Then Annabeth noticed what was in Noel's left hand. It was the source of smoke. Her son brought the joint up to his lips and took a long drag, a smile spreading over his face as he exhaled the smoke through his mouth and dropped his hand again.

Annabeth hurried on past the room to her and Percy's room, where she shut the door and leaned against it, trying to hold back the tears. There, just there, on her night stand, were the pictures of her kids, all three of them. Noel was in the middle, his shaggy brown hair just long enough to see that he had inherited his father's waves. His grey eyes stared into the camera and the lighting that day had made his well-pronounced cheekbones even more so. As was usual for the time of year, you could see the open pea coat over a dark t-shirt; it was all he wore in winter and fall. He loved his pea coat.

On Noel's left was Percy and Annabeth's oldest daughter, Riley. Her straight black hair was short, down to the base of her neck at its longest point. Riley made it a point to dress darker but, in a way, also classy. The photo had been taken on her eighteenth birthday, right after she had gotten that damn tattoo on her left forearm. Sure, it was a beautiful tattoo and Riley, the artist of the family, had drawn it herself, but it was still a tattoo. Sure enough, Riley was Thalia's favorite of the Jackson kids.

On the right was the perfect on in the family, Clara. Her blonde wavy hair was swept across her face as she smiled into the camera, her green eyes shining as always, making the peace sign with her right hand in front of the Santa Barbara beach.

"Mom?" Speak of the devil. Clara's voice sounded through the door. Annabeth gulped and wiped her eyes quickly. Before opening the door, she checked the mirror; she looked fine. Nothing was visibly wrong with her. Oh wait, that strand of hair. She quickly pushed it behind her ear and opened the door for her youngest, a freshman in high school.

"Yes, honey?" Annabeth smiled, the sight of her daughter soothing her teeming insides.

"Mom, do you think you could drive me to the printing store? I have to print these posters for freshman body president."

Ah yes, Clara. Riley and Noel always lovingly called her 'Prepster' seeing as she was the only 'preppy' one in the family. She was a cheerleader, on the field hockey team, on the track team, and always running for some Student Council part. Last year, she had been the student body president of the whole middle school.

"Sure, honey, let me just grab my keys. Can't Riley drive you?"

Riley was nineteen and a senior in high school. When she was in third grade she had been held back a year, quite unfairly, Annabeth thought, because of her dyslexia.

"Uh, no, she said she's going out with friends."

This caught Annabeth by surprise.

"What friends?"

Clara laughed.

"Wow, you make it sound like she has none!"

"Well, she never talks about anyone," Annabeth grinned in response, and Clara laughed.

"No, she's going go karting with Mickey."

"Who's Mickey," Annabeth asked curiously as she and her daughter exited the house towards the silver BMW in the driveway. The good thing about being the official architect in Olympus and Percy being his father's personal assistant (of course, their neighbors thought that Percy was a marine biologist and Annabeth was an architect for a famous architecture company) was that both jobs paid fairly well, and they were able to give their children the full American Suburban experience, as Annabeth liked to call it. Secretly, she actually wanted to buy an apartment in Manhattan, but she and Percy had agreed to stay in one place until their kids had graduated high school.

"I don't know, he doesn't go to our school," Clara replied, shrugging. Annabeth made a mental note to interrogate Riley about this 'Mickey' person later. "Hey, could Jackie and Angela stay over tonight?"

"Sure, just tell me in time what you guys want to eat," Annabeth said. Jackie, a very openly and very incredibly gay boy in Clara's grade and Angela, a petite Asian girl, also in Clara's grade, were Clara's best friends, and the three of them practically lived at each other's homes.

Once all the posters were printed and carefully put in the back of the BMW, Annabeth and Clara stopped by the grocery store to buy dinner and drinks for later. Back home, Clara immediately called Jackie and Angela, and Annabeth went back upstairs in hopes that Noel's friends were gone. The door was closed, and the stenciled graffiti letters 'Censored: Don't Enter' in neon green glared out at her. Somehow, she was nervous. Part of her wanted to open the door to find her son in a sweater vest, studying an architecture book, and the other half wanted his friends to bet here so she could really embarrass him. Gulping down her anxiety, she knocked on the door and turned the knob.

The sounds of a guitar being played hit her as she swung the door out, ready to get really, really, _really_ pissed at Noel. Her son was in the same clothes, though sitting on the bed, the black vintage guitar he had gotten ages ago resting on his lap. He was playing a slower melody, slightly sad. The girl who previously had been wearing Noel's boxers and a bra was singing along softly to it. She was wearing a dark green tank top and brown skinny jeans. Garrett, now also fully clothed, was sitting on a wooden box that appeared to be hollow and functioning as a drum. The girl he had been fooling around with earlier was not there.

The sight simply stunned Annabeth. She had no idea that Noel played so well; she never heard him practice. Noel's head shot up at the sight of his mother and he abruptly stopped playing.

"Noel. Uh, are your friends staying for supper? If so, I'd quickly have to go get some more pizzas," Annabeth said, desperately trying to find the right words; the right excuse for bursting into her son's room unannounced.

"No, they're not," Noel muttered. "They're leaving now."

His word seemed to be law there. Garrett and the girl got up and left, not even acknowledging Annabeth in the doorway. Annabeth cleared her throat as she fixated Noel with a hard glare. Said young man sighed and put his guitar aside, standing up to face his mother.

"Who were they?"

"Channy and you know Garrett," Noel muttered, not meeting his mother's eyes.

"Who's Channy?"

"She's a friend."

Annabeth hated this. She absolutely hated how distant her son had gotten, the very same son who had gotten distressed when he first liked a girl in second grade, and who had cried in her arms for hours in seventh grade when he was questioning his sexuality; something that ended up with him reasoning that he was a little bi-curious, though Percy and Annabeth were firmly convinced that their son was bisexual.

"_Just_ a friend?" Annabeth smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

"God, yes, just a friend, mom. Why do you need to be in my business all the time anyway?"

"Noel, please don't talk to me like that. Is something bothering you? May I come in?"

Noel didn't seem too keen on the idea, but knew better than to raise suspicions, so he gave the doorway free, letting his mother come in. His pea coat was thrown over the chair in front of his desk, concealing the seating area. This seemed suspicious to Annabeth, but she knew better than to make her son feel unsettled, so she sat down on the bed, trying to ignore how the covers were conspicuously thrown over a spot in the center instead of being pushed to the side as usual.

"So?" Noel asked as he sat down on the beanbag, staring directly at his mom, though still not meeting her eyes. That was when Annabeth noticed that Noel _couldn't_ meet her eyes. His pupils were dilated, eyes unfocused; she could see he was already having trouble keeping his eyes on her face.

"Are you fine, honey? How's school going? Did you sign up for the swimming team?"

"'M fine, mom. School's fine, I'm not failing. No I didn't. Why do you people always expect me to be part of swimming? I'm not a fucking legacy of Poseidon or shit."

"Language, Noel," Annabeth reminded him in a strict voice. She had never been too strict with her children, except when it came to language. "Anyway, I thought that a sports team might be a good way to make friends."

"What are you saying, that I don't have friends?" Noel snorted, leaning his head back in annoyance. "You _just_ saw that I have friends, 'kay?"

Annabeth took the chance to stand up and walk over to the desk chair. She placed her hand on the coat as she glared at her son.

"Yes, but sometimes I wonder what kind of friends you're bringing home, Noel." And with that, she grabbed the coat and threw it onto bed to reveal… a stack of joints. Annabeth's heart rate quickened at the sight of the drugs; part of her had really been hoping that there would be nothing under the coat.

A snort came from the open doorway to reveal Riley standing there. Noel turned and mock-glared at her.

"Busted," Riley grinned. "Hah! Clara owes me twenty bucks! And now I can actually call you-"

"You and Clara knew about this?" Annabeth exclaimed, which shut Riley up. Said girl looked guiltily down to her right. "We'll talk later, young lady. For now, both of you, get ready for dinner. Jackie and Angela will be over and they-"

"Oh, they know, mom. Noel's, like, the biggest pothead at school!"

"That's enough, Riley Jackson. Go to your room, put on something more appropriate, and come down for dinner," Annabeth fumes, gesticulating at Riley's outfit, which consisted of extremely ripped jeans and a tank top that swooped dangerously low. Riley's leather jacket was slung over her arm.

"Yes sir," Riley grumbled and disappeared from the doorway, making her way towards her room. Annabeth turned back to Noel.

"And you, Noel Jackson, really, I expected better from you. You, your dad and I will have a _long_ talk after dinner."

…:…

"Oh my god, Mrs. Jackson, you look fabulous," Jackie exclaimed when he set eyes on Annabeth, who smirked. "As always," he added, sending a charming smile her way. He was gesturing to her grey sweater, which was new; a gift from Athena for doing a little extra work on Athena's temple. Percy had said she looked absolutely gorgeous in it, and if Jackie even approved, Annabeth knew it would work.

"'Sup, Prepster's preppy friends," Noel said teasingly and Angela and Jackie rolled their eyes.

"Oh my god, did you see Garrett Craven here earlier?" Angela started gushing at her friends, who both immediately blushed.

"Oh. My. God. Yes, oh god he is _so_ hot," Jackie giggled, getting a dreamy look on his face.

"And still not gay," Noel smirked darkly at Jackie as he sat down across from said boy with two slices of pepperoni pizza and a can of Sunkist. Jackie rolled his eyes in response but still grinned.

"Yeah, but I heard he sleeps with anyone and anything, so I've got my hopes."

Sometimes, Annabeth couldn't really believe what her children and her children's friends said, and it was just accepted by society. Jackie was fifteen; he wasn't supposed to be thinking about sex! When she was fifteen, she and Percy had been worried about saving the world. Of course, times had changed. Her kids went to Camp Half-Blood in the summers, when she and Percy acted as instructors. The children stayed in the Big House, even though Annabeth was in the process of building Athens and Sparta, which would be two little cities on either side of camp where people could go to school and get a job and so, like New Rome.

"Yeah, but still, fat chance. Garrett has a girlfriend and intends to stick with her."

At this, Riley nearly choked on her pepperoni pizza because she had to laugh.

"_The_ Garrett Craven, sticking with a girlfriend? For how long?"

Noel also was laughing.

"He says he's gonna try for six months. I give it six days; it's only day two and he's already slept with her."

"Hah, I give it two more days," Riley replied. "We could always set Jackie loose on him."

And so the conversation continued. Annabeth just sat in the kitchen, letting the kids eat in the dining room by themselves. It was five minutes to seven; Percy should be home anytime soon. And then she'd have to talk with Noel. A wave of sadness overtook Annabeth again; it was not a conversation she had ever planned on having – with _any_ of her children.

"You're beautiful," Percy's hot breath tickled Annabeth's right ear as her husband took her by surprise and hugged her from the back. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't heard him come in. She squealed and turned, wrapping her arms around Percy, as if she never wanted to let go, which, of course, she actually didn't.

"You want to annoy our beloved children?" Percy smiled down at her. Annabeth chuckled and nodded, pressing her lips to Percy's. Their children hated it when their parents were overly affectionate around their friends, which just gave Percy and Annabeth more incentive to be so.

"Get some!" Noel's voice sounded loudly through the pass-through. His voice, his beautiful voice. Now Annabeth noticed, for the first time, it had a certain hoarse quality to it that no doubt came from smoking. Laughs followed Noel's call and the sound of a high-five, probably between Noel and Riley, was heard. The two really were a good team; it was like there was no two year age difference. They were like twins. The fact that Noel was about as tall as Riley, if not taller, of course also supported that.

Percy pulled away and stared lovingly into Annabeth's eyes. He didn't know how, but every time he saw her, yes, every time he thought of her or saw her name, his heart fluttered and he felt like a love-struck teenager all over again.

"I missed you," he murmured.

"It's only been since eight," Annabeth laughed.

"Yeah, and that's eleven hours too long. I swear, this new bridge they're building in New Jersey has got all the fish rallied up. And to add to that, the Big Fish Group filed for an official complaint!"

Annabeth couldn't help but smile at her husband's problems. Fishes were either very unimaginative when giving their groups names, like the A.D.H.D. (Attractive Damselfish Helping Democracy), or they were extremely boring, like the B.F.G. (no, not the Big Friendly Giant, but the Big Fish Group, a group for big fishes).

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, looking extremely concerned. He always seemed to know when something was wrong with Annabeth, and he always got way too concerned Annabeth blinked slowly and turned her head just enough so that she could see Noel, Riley, Clara, Angela and Jackie. They were all being loud, laughing; having a good time.

"It's Noel," Annabeth murmured.

"What about him?" Percy asked in an equally hushed voice.

"He… he has a drug problem."


	2. In Which Riley Has Some Interesting News

**Okay, so thank you to LeoLuver (nice name, by the way) for being the first reviewer! Please, guys, review! I know most people think story alerting is enough, but reviews are what really keep us going. So please, REVIEW! Or Noel will get his ass busted and sent to jail ;)**

NOEL ETHAN JACKSON

Noel could hear the laughs and shouts coming from Clara's room upstairs; he made a mental note to throw a joint lit with Greek Fire (the effect was hilarious: the joint imploded and everyone to breath in the fumes extremely high, but at the same time mute, so they were running around like idiots, moving their mouths like fishes. Noel had done this a few times with his friends) into the room. However, at the present time, his mother and father were scrutinizing him.

Noel hadn't always been his parents' favorite. In fact, he often felt Clara was the favorite. Well, he hadn't exactly helped himself by asking Zeus to be his patron. Zeus, surprisingly, had obliged, happy to hold it over Poseidon that the sea god's grandson was under the power of Zeus.

"Noel… how- how did you even get the drugs?"

If he had replied truthfully, he would have said Channy. Channy's full name was Cannabis. She was a cannabis plant nymph, and Noel's best friend along with Garrett, a legacy of Pluto. The three of them had been together ever since fourth grade. Channy had started supplying them with weed since seventh grade, when her mother taught her how to make use of herself. As a thirteenth birthday present, Channy had given Noel and Garrett each their own little cannabis plant, so that she wouldn't have to keep taking from her own crop.

"Places…" Noel answered vaguely, pleased at his parents annoyed expressions.

"How long…?"

"Eh… a while."

"Noel, we're trying to help you," Percy said earnestly, leaning forward so that he was on eye level with his son.

Noel was mentally cursing himself for sending Channy and Garrett away so soon. Usually, before she left, Channy would touch each of them somewhere on their faces, which would cure the high and make them completely normal.

"I don't need help," Noel muttered. "I don't have failing grades, do I?"

"It's not the grades," Annabeth replied. "Noel, we're worried about your health."

"Don't worry about it, I have it under control."

"I don't think you do." Annabeth was obviously trying to be sweet and understanding, but really, it was just pissing Noel off.

"I said I'm fine, dammit! I've been doing this for five years and you've never noticed, why start now? If any damage is done, it's already done! I'm fucking fine!" He exploded, and Percy and Annabeth's calm and composed reactions just made him angrier. "Well? What's it gonna be, huh? Fucking rehab? You gonna search my room? Send me away to live with grandpa?"

He was referring to his grandparents on his mother's mortal side, of course. Frederic Chase was his favorite grandfather; he always took him out on plane rides after he had found out the boy's patron god was Zeus.

"Noel, watch your language!" Percy hissed. This shut Noel up, strangely enough. Percy never got angry, ever. He had never once shouted at his children, not ever. But this was the angriest Noel had ever seen his father. And it felt good. For so long, he had wanted a reaction from them, he just wanted them to say something, _anything_, about him. Whenever he had done something great, whenever he had won something, all they said was 'that's great, honey' or so. They had always been so damn composed.

"So finally," Noel breathed, out of breath. "You _do_ have emotions. Well congratulations. It brought you abso-fucking-lutely nothing. Good night."

…:…

After changing his sheets for a new set of black and white checked ones, Noel flung himself down face-forwards, hugging his pillow to his face. When someone knocked on his door he grunted in hopes of the person simply going away, but no such luck. The door opened and shut quietly, and the sound of footsteps on the floor, and the sound of the same person plunking themself down on the beanbag were heard.

"Stoner," the voice said, which Noel immediately recognized to be Riley's. He could practically hear the smirk on her face.

"Raccoon," he retorted, referring to the heavy black eye makeup that Riley always wore. However, unlike most emo girls at their school, hers was applied carefully, as if from a professional makeup artist. Riley had changed into an oversized Hard Rock Café t-shirt and black skinny jeans. He had never seen the t-shirt; it was probably Mickey's. Mickey – more commonly known as Michael Jarrett – was Riley's secret boyfriend since ninth grade.

He was exactly the type Percy and Annabeth would hate, and that was hard to be. He worked odd jobs; dangerous jobs, that put his life at risk at all times, just to annoy his parents. Lucky for him, he was a legacy of Apollo who had inherited a great deal of healing powers. And his parents… oh yes, Annabeth and Percy certainly didn't approve of the father, a man by the name of Octavian. To Percy and Annabeth, being Octavian's son was as good as being the man.

And Riley was exactly the kind of girl that Mickey's parents would hate. Octavian and his wife were incredibly strict, and Riley did not fall into that category. She was 'untamed' and 'wild', as teachers would say. With her punk-like attitude, she rarely ever made good impressions on older people.

And yet somehow, Mickey still loved her. That was way beyond Noel.

"So I'm guessing you got pretty busted?" Riley asked tentatively.

"Fuck yeah," Noel groaned, turning onto his back so he was looking at the white spotless ceiling.

"Sucks…" Riley murmured. She had always been the one who was there for Noel, who had understood him perfectly.

"Uh-huh. So, how was go-karting? I see you ended up with a t-shirt yet again?"

The oldest Jackson child chuckled.

"Yeah, this one's from his first job."

"Cool. I wouldn't mid working there."

"I'll see if I can throw in a good word. Mickey likes you."

Noel had met Mickey three times, and already considered him his brother in law. Mickey looked like he was racially fucked, Noel thought. Because of his parents' two extremes (Octavian, a tall thin Caucasian man with light blond hair and blue eyes, and his wife being a tiny very Asian Harvard- graduate), he looked a little… well, weird. He had his father's light blond hair, but an Asian complexion. Somewhere along Octavian's side of the family, someone must have had curly hair, because Mickey's was curly, which made most people think he curled it in the mornings. He was average in height and lucky that Riley was just an inch shorter than him.

"Yeah, thanks, but never mind about it. I don't know what mom and dad are going to do with me," Noel muttered again and put his hands over his face.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I'm going to tell them about Mickey."

"Huh?" Noel's head shot up and turned to look at his sister, who just nodded gravely.

"Yeah, it's about time. After all, he got an apartment in Manhattan and asked me to move in with him. It's all already planned. I'm going to Cornell with a ten thousand dollar scholarship per year, and I have a job as a makeup artist with a fashion show company. Mickey has a job at a hospital there as a male nurse; I think Apollo helped out with that a little. Apollo really likes him, I think."

"Lucky bastard," Noel sighed. "And I'm guessing mom and dad know nothing?"

"Yeah, well, that's the tricky part. Whenever I tried to talk to them, they always didn't have time. Always something with Clara."

Noel and Riley didn't hate Clara, they really didn't. It was just sometimes so damn annoying that because she was a prep and popular and a legacy of Athena that she was the favorite.

"I hope you're lucky," Noel said, really meaning it.

Knocking sounded yet again on Noel's door. Both Riley and Noel instinctively knew who it was. They just kept looking at each other, not moving from their respective spots. The door swung gently open to reveal Percy and Annabeth standing there, one looking sadder than the other.

"Noel… and Riley." Percy didn't sound surprised; Riley and Noel often hung out in each other's rooms. "C-Can we come in?" Noel nodded and his parents entered and sat down on the floor, making a triangle between themselves, their son and their oldest daughter.

"First off, Noel…" Annabeth began, not bothered that Riley was there. Again, Riley and Noel went through most things together. Annabeth knew that if one wanted the other to leave, it would be said. "I'm sorry that we made you feel like we didn't have any emotions towards you."

"Yeah, Noel. I'm really sorry, it's just that I had no clue what to do, you know? All along I was thinking you'd be a legacy of Poseidon or Athena and I'd know what to do, but then you come out saying that Zeus is your patron and you sacrifice food to him, Demeter, Persephone and Hestia, it was all just so confusing," Percy added.

"Dad… mom… look, I'm not going to say sorry about the weed; you know that just like I know you won't apologize for the way you reacted. But you have to know that I _am_ completely safe and controlled. Channy is short for Cannabis; she's a weed nymph."

A look of understanding passed over Noel's parents' faces.

"Sweetheart… we don't really know what to say. I mean, we're not angry. We're… we're disappointed. And, we feel we should tell you two first since you're the oldest, we're moving to Manhattan. We, as a family, need a new start, so we'll be moving after spring break."

So the bombshell was dropped.

"What?" came from Riley and Noel simultaneously.

"No!" Noel cried. "Why? If it's because of the-"

"It's not just the drugs, Noel," Percy interrupted his son. "We – your mother and I – need to be closer to Olympus and the ocean. A while ago, we bought a nice old apartment that we wanted to move into after Clara had graduated, but it seems that there are problems and we need to move earlier. And the drugs have actually just enforced our decision."

Noel nodded bitterly; he knew better than to argue with his parents about this.

Percy and Annabeth got up to leave, and Noel shot Riley a glance. _Now. Now's your chance._

"Mom, dad?" Riley called in a falsetto-like high voice. Noel could hear the panic quivering in it.

Percy and Annabeth immediately turned to face their daughter.

"Yes, sweety?"

"There's something I need to tell you."

Noel looked up at his sister.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked quietly, but Riley shook her head.

"No, I need you here."

"Honey, what's going on?" Annabeth asked.

"Well… there's this boy – man – named Mickey," Riley started.

…:…

"Well… I think they took it well," Riley laughed, and Noel joined in. Their parents had been shocked, to say it in the least, that their daughter was moving in with the son of one of the people they disliked the most. Of course, they had been angry with Riley, but they hadn't been able to say anything against it. Riley was nineteen; a legal adult. The only good thing that had come from the conversation was that Annabeth had been overjoyed that Riley got into Cornell.

"You think?" Noel managed between laughs. They were sitting side by side on the wooden stools on the balcony that led from Riley's room. Noel was the only one without a balcony, but for that, his room had a private little bathroom with a shower attached. Over to the right, Clara's balcony door was open and the sounds of the freshmen laughing as they watched a chick flick drifted over in the otherwise quiet neighborhood.

"Hey, at least they didn't take all my possessions and burn them with Greek Fire!" Riley protested, which made Noel throw his head back and laugh. Percy and Annabeth had confiscated his joints and cannabis garden and set fire to it in the back. Unfortunately for them, the skunk that had been living there for the past few years had gotten a whiff of it, got high and let its gasses loose. Needless to say, everyone stayed inside the house. Or, in Riley and Noel's case, they went on the porches in the front.

"True, true. But hey, at least they agreed to have Mickey over for dinner on Sunday. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Yeah, that's good. Who knows, maybe they'll actually like him!"

Both of them laughed again. It had gotten warmer that day; it had been an abnormally long winter in the suburbs of Boston that year. However, the weather forecast had announced the end of winter with temperatures reaching the seventies and eighties in spring break. It didn't really affect the Jackson family though, since they, along with the families of several of their old friends from camp, had arranged to go on a trip to someone's vacation house at Lake Michigan for the week. It was supposed to be warm there.

It was strange, really. None of the kids had really met the others before and everyone was a little nervous. Now that the whole things concerning Noel and Riley had actually surfaced, it would be a whole lot more… awkward. Oh well. Noel was looking forward to it, especially since he now knew that it was his last week with his oldest sister before she moved in with Mickey.

"So spring break should be fun," Riley started, looking off into the distance over the houses of deepest suburbia.

"Huh, yeah, _fun_… I have a _very_ different definition of fun, Riles," Noel retorted, and his sister smirked.

"Aw, come on, stoner boy, I'm sure there's at least one more pothead there. You know who all's coming?"

"Oh jeez, don't make me _think_," Noel groaned. "Uh… well… there's the Stolls, the other Stolls, Thalia and Nico – are they actually married now? – then… hmm… oh, yeah, Jason and Reyna… Leo and whatshername – wasn't he, like, raped by a goddess or so? – and then there's Piper with her kids. I don't think her husband's coming. Or, wait, no, she has demigod kids, right?"

"Wow… you really must be so blunt all the time, don't you," Riley smirked. "Yeah, I think that's all. Oh, and I think Leo and Piper are together now, but I'm not sure. But don't joke about the conception of Leo's kids around him, 'kay? I think that's a touchy subject. I mean, raped by two goddesses… wow, that must suck."

"Yeah, and they weren't even nice about it. I mean, Gaea raped him in his dreams and Khione almost killed him!"

Oh yes, their godly family was quite messed up, Noel mused.

"Well, Ima go to bed. Sleep tight, lil bro," Riley affectionately ruffled Noel's hair and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "How about you, Mickey, and I go get ice cream tomorrow? You could bring a girl you like or so…."

Noel smiled.

"I'll think about it, thanks."

Of course, he already knew who he was going to ask. It was no use asking Channy, since she was more into satyrs. In fact, since tenth grade, she had a satyr boyfriend, Basil. Basil had live skin and long black dreads and sleek black goat fur that he kept clipped pretty short, almost like a horse, just a little longer. He always had cool patterns shaved into the sides of his legs; like tattoos for goats.

No, he wouldn't ask Channy. He'd ask Norah.

Norah… a girl who was five feet tall with six feet of attitude. Her short dirty blonde hair was always so messy it was cute; she had mastered the 'out of bed' style perfectly. She had a tiny stud in her nose which made her so much more adorable, Noel thought.

Later, at about ten thirty, Noel went on Facebook to find Norah. Typing her name into the search bar, he felt his heart rate quicken a little. There! _Norah Ethans_. He clicked on the name and her timeline popped up. The cover photo was of her in front of some building; presumably in Europe. It looked… European. The smaller picture, her actual profile photo, looked like it was taken from inside an airplane.

_**Hey, do you wanna do something tmr?**_

Noel typed into the message box. He was lucky Norah was on at that moment.

_**sure, what were u thinkin?**_

_**well, my sis wants to go see a movie w/her bf and said I should come nd bring some1 along & I thought of u :)**_

After a few seconds, Norah answered.

_**sounds cool. Just pick me up whenevr ;)**_

_**awesome, c ya**_

_**c ya**_

He could not believe he just did that. He felt like he could take on the world, especially now. His heart still beating a mile a minute, Noel lay down on his bed, figuring it would be good to get at least some sleep before tomorrow.


	3. In Which Pancakes Are Scrumptious

NOEL ETHAN JACKSON

Noel and Riley had agreed not to show their faces at the breakfast table in protest. Noel had quickly and quietly moved to Riley's room while Percy, Annabeth, Clara and her friends were having breakfast, and was now sitting on Riley's desk, leaning against the wall. Her computer said it was already 71 degrees, even though it was only nine in the morning.

"Okay, Noel, could you please stop sitting like a creeper?" Riley muttered from her vanity, her eyes briefly flitting to her brother.

"Well, I'm bored," Noel grunted.

"Draw something," was Riley's advice, which made Noel grin. Riley had been the first person to get into art in the family, and Percy and Annabeth had somehow overlooked that Noel was quite the popular artist on _deviantART_. Most of his drawings were tattoos, graffiti or so, but he had a separate folder for drawing people and airplane photography.

"But I want pancakes!" Noel groaned, which, in turn, made Riley laugh.

"Well, how about this: when I'm done, we sneak outside and go to Ihop, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

Five minutes later, the two siblings had jumped off Riley's balcony and had climbed into Riley's Mini. With the AC on (even 71 degrees felt hot with 100 percent humidity) and bad pop music blasting as loudly as it could from the stereo, the Mini pulled out of the driveway and zoomed down the street, at well over the speed limit. Minutes later, they pulled into the Ihop parking lot, where they got a few odd stares from by passers, but neither Noel nor Riley minded.

"Well, here we are at the one and only Ihop," Riley stated, turning the engine off. Noel looked out his window before getting out, but froze with his hand on the door opener. "What's wrong Bro? Changed your mind 'bout the pancakes?" Riley frowned. Noel never changed his mind about pancakes, _ever_. When it came to breakfast matters, her little brother was dead serious.

"Norah works here…" Noel mumbled, letting his sentence drift into the silence that was soon filled with a small giggle from Riley. "How do I look?" Noel turned to his sister, a sudden urge of panic gripping at his insides. He, contrary to popular belief, liked to always look his best when he was around girls, and really did try to be a gentleman (well, around Channy didn't count).

Riley rolled her eyes.

"Is she into dark red t-shirts and black sweatpants?"

"Uh… I guess? She seemed to want to go to the movies last night…"

"Awesome! Now, put on my fedora," Riley smirked gleefully, taking her black hat with the red sash on it off and putting it on Noel's head.

"What? No! This is a girl's hat!" Noel grunted, and moved to take the hat off, but Riley stopped him.

"Well, that shows you're secure enough to go in there with a girl's hat on and still hit on her like a man. Now let's go, I'm starving."

Noel rolled his eyes, knowing it was no use to argue with his sister. So, he jammed the fedora on his head and got out of the car, shutting the door with a powerful but elegant swing, just like they did in the movies. Sure, he could feel eyes on him; a sign which he took for good, seeing as he wanted to look good for the girl he was going to take out that evening.

They sat down in a booth at a window overlooking the highway. All around, there were families with little kids (there were two really cute twin girls who couldn't have been older than five running around with flaming red hair), families with old kids, and even a guy who looked sketchier than Noel, sitting alone in the corner farthest from them, sipping a soda. Noel faintly recognized him; he was a dealer from the rival school district. They'd smoked out a little every now and then at competitions. He was in the horseback riding team; the only team where they only tested the horses for drugs.

"Hi, my name's Bertha and I will be your waitress this morning," a pudgy woman of about fifty stood in front of the booth. Noel, who had been expecting Norah, looked positively shocked at the woman with greying hair and Riley found great pleasure at it. "Can I get you two any drinks?"

"Yeah, sure, we'll take two cokes," Riley smiled charmingly at Bertha.

"Sure thing, hon- ooh," Bertha's eyes widened as a loud jingle came from her waistband. She pulled off an ancient looking cellphone and answered it. "Bruce. I cannot _believe_ you're calling now. No, no, _you_ don't understand. Oh, _you're_ going there? Oh hell, _I'll_ go there!" She took the phone from her ear and put her hand over the loudspeaker as she turned her head to bark at a young waitress. "Yo, Ethans, take my quarter for ten!" Then she hurried away, shouting insults at her phone.

"Oh, Bertha," the replacement waitress rolled her eyes as Bertha waddled off. "Hey, I'm Norah- oh, hey Noel," Norah smiled at him. Noel swore he felt his heart stop. Luckily for him though, he had enough experience than to stutter and sound like an amateur. "I didn't know you come here."

"Hey, Norah. We don't usually, we're just trying to piss our parents off," Noel grinned at the girl, partially convinced he looked like a puppy, partially convinced he looked a whole new level of creepy. Lucky for him, Norah seemed to like the idea.

"Cool! So, I gathered that's two cokes, and do you know what you want to eat yet?" she raised her eyebrows so that they disappeared in her messy blonde bangs. Damn, she just looked so _cute_. Well, the fact that her apron was quite tight, giving her all the right curves. Oh, how he wished he could take that apron and tear it to shreds, no, just rip off all her clothes and- "How bout I give you some time," Norah smiled apologetically and moved on to the next table. It was only then that Noel noticed he must have just been staring off into space like an amateur idiot.

"Nice going, pothead," Riley remarked.

"Oh, shut up!"

They continued their friendly bickering until Norah came back, when they ordered their pancakes and Noel tried his best to act calm and collected while still charming her. Riley got a call from Mickey soon after and left the table for a few seconds, so Noel was left alone for a bit while waiting for the pancakes. However, the space quickly filled with someone else.

"Sorry, the seat's taken," Noel muttered, not bothering to look away from Norah's really cute butt as she lent on the counter of the diner. He heard the person chuckle in return and immediately deduced that the person was female, probably in her teens.

"Not for me. You're Noel Jackson, right?"

Annoyed that he had to direct his stare somewhere else, Noel turned his head to the girl, making it obvious how annoyed he was at her intrusion of his morning.

"Yeah, so?"

"Come on, you don't remember me?" The girl challenged. Noel looked at her through narrowed eyes, running her face through the names in his head. She had an oval face, pale olive skin and long black hair. Her eyes were bright blue, which looked weird, and her mouth was curled in such a way that Noel didn't know if it was a kind smile or an evil smirk.

He knew her from somewhere; just where?

"Come on, Noel, _think_. It can't be _that_ hard…"

"That's what she said," Noel muttered under his breath, but kept thinking. "Any clues, little Miss Mysterious? Or do I needa play Veronica Mars?"

"Wow, jerk much? Uh, okay, we're sort of related, but actually not. Actually, we're not related at all."

"Wow, that really clears it up, captain obvious," Noel snarked.

"Okay, seriously, Noel. You don't remember?"

"Nope, not one bit."

"Fine! Liana di Angelo, ring a bell?"

Noel's mind finally comprehended the mix of Italian demigod and spunky daughter of Zeus.

"Ooh… yeah… right. Liana. I've met you, what, once?

"Four times," Liana corrected him sternly.

"Right, four times. So why are you talking to me?"

"Huh, offensive much?" Liana rolled her eyes.

"Well, to be honest, I was busy-"

"Ogling Norah's ass? Yeah, I know."

It was Noel's turn to roll his eyes.

"Okay, seriously? I like the girl, it's only natural. How do you know her anyway?"

"Oh, she's on the soccer team. We play matches against each other and became friends that way."

"Still doesn't explain why you were talking to me," Noel frowned.

"_Fine_! You and my brother, Rico, are going to be sharing a room next week, and I wanted to make sure you're okay," Liana folded her arms and glared at him.

"Okay, jeez, no need to be mean," Noel retorted, liking Liana less and less. "So… do you know who else is sharing rooms?"

"Yes. But why would I tell you?"

"Oh my god, I was just asking!" Noel burst out, feeling the anger rising uncontrollably in him. "Sorry for being a little curious!"

"Wow, just calm down, Noel! Jeez, you can't take a joke, can you? Look, all the guy-kids are sharing a room, except the really young ones and the married ones, and the girl-kids are all sharing rooms, again, except the really young and the married ones."

"Hey, guys, are there any problems?" Norah had returned with the pancakes.

"Oh, hey, Liana! Where'd Riley go?" She asked Noel. He shrugged it off, saying she had to call her boyfriend.

"Now if Liana doesn't mind, she's leaving now," Noel sneered at his sort-of-but-not-really cousin, who rolled her eyes, gave Norah an apologetic glance, and left.

"Wow, little harsh?" Norah smirked and sat down opposite Noel. "Sorry about her though. She can be a little… well…"

"Bitchy?" Noel tried, and Nora nodded.

"Yeah, bitchy. So, about today, when are you going to pick me up? And do you have my address?"

"Uh, four to the first and no to the second." Noel replied, sending his most charming smile Norah's way. Said girl seemed to pick up on this and Noel was pleased to see a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Okay, four is good; my shift ends at one. Here's my address and cell number, in case you need anything," Norah smiled shyly as she slid a piece of paper over to Noel that she had just written said items on.

"Cool, will do."

"Okay, well, I need to go. Duty calls," Norah sighed and stood up. "See you later," she waved.

"See you!" Noel called after her. "See you…" he mumbled to himself as he poured a healthy portion of syrup onto his pancakes. "See you…" He smiled.

"Well, _someone's_ a lovestruck little teenager," Riley's demonic voice greeted Noel's ears just as he had finished his second pancake and working frantically on his third. He briefly looked up to glare at his sister, and noted the look on her faced. She looked so happy, so relaxed, like she usually looked when just having talked with Mickey. Huh, maybe he really did make her happy.

"Look who's talking," Noel said between maple syrup soaked pancake bites.

"Corrección, amigo, yo no soy un teenager. I'm a fricking legal adult, bitch!"

"Oh stop trying to speak Spanish, Ri-Ri. Let's just stick with Greek; at least we can speak that."

"Be quiet and eat your pancakes."

…:…

When Riley and Noel got home after their most scrumptious excursion to their heaven on earth, they opened the door to Clara throwing a fit, to but it nicely. They had bumped into Angela and Jackie (who had winked somewhat provocatively at Noel, who, in turn, had slapped the freshman's butt) and they and warned the siblings of what was going on inside, but they figured they'd have to face it anyway, so they decided to be brave and walk in the front door.

Clara was freaking out, shouting obscenities at Percy and Annabeth and, when he came in, landing a well-placed punch in Noel's gut before shouting at him that it was his entire fault. Her life, apparently, had been ruined. That was until Riley pulled her younger sister off her brother and took her to her room to talk some sense into the girl, which left Noel standing there awkwardly with his parents.

"So… I'm gonna have some milk," Noel muttered. Percy chuckled and handed Noel a glass as said boy got a gallon of milk out of the fridge. "And could I have some ice for that punch? Looks like Malcolm taught her well," he added, wincing as he bent over and his gut screamed in protest. He lifted his shirt to find a bright red large spot right where his abs had been forming so nicely (they were there alright, they were just a little shy. He was, however, proud of the two lines on either side of his belly button indication that his abs were existent). Ugh, that would leave a nasty bruise.

Annabeth rummaged around in the freezer a bit before handing her son an ice pack and telling him to go lie down so that the ice could sit on his stomach.

"Do you want to see pictures of the place? We only got some of the outside; sadly, the super didn't want us to take any inside yet, but they inside's really nice."

Noel nodded at his mom as he lay on the couch, propped up so that he could see the TV and drink his milk but also so that the ice still sat nicely on his abs. Annabeth disappeared into the study for a few seconds and soon came back with a laptop, which she put on her lap after she sat down and positioned so that Noel could see it.

"Looks cool," Noel muttered, somewhat unenthusiastically. Normally, he'd be smoking at that time of day.

"Oh don't sound _too_ enthusiastic," Annabeth countered, which made Noel crack up. I there was one thing he had always really loved about his mother (except the fact that she was his mother and he loved her blindly) was her use of sarcasm. He had inherited this snarky trait from her, as she proudly said. Riley had inherited the same snarkiness, whereas Clara had inherited her father's blunt way of speaking and complete stubbornness.

"I met Liana di Angelo today," Noel said, trying to get off the topic of New York.

"Oh yeah, Nico and Thalia's. How is she?"

"She's a b- uh… she's, well, definitely her parents' daughter," Noel grimaced and took another sip of milk. Annabeth laughed a little.

"I'm guessing she's the perfect mix of mommy and daddy?"

"_Oh_ yes."

"Ah. Well, at least try to get along with her, okay? I think you two are the only ones who are the same age, thus you will be doing the most together."

"Hey, what about Riley?"

Annabeth sighed.

"You know, we're thinking of inviting this… Mickey person."

That really raised Noel's eyebrows, but he chose to say nothing. Instead, he asked who the children were who'd be coming.

"Well," Annabeth started and Noel could tell it'd be quite a list. "There's Riley, you and Clara. Then there's Liana and Matt di Angelo. Laura and Grace Stoll (from Travis and Katie) and Benji, Alex and Madden Stoll (form Connor and Lou Ellen). Maximus Grace should also be there. Wow, Jason and Reyna really could have been a little more creative. Piper's kid is Theo, and then Leo's are Esperanza and Felix."

"And how old are they?"

"Oh geez, always with the questions, Noel," Annabeth mock glared at her son, but then proceeded to answer the question. "Riley and Esperanza are the oldest, but I think they're going to be with their respective boyfriends. You and Liana are both seventeen, Matt, Benji, Clara and Theo are fourteen. Laura and Grace – Gracie, twins, are twelve, as is Alex. Max, Madden and Felix are ten."

"Uh- huh, so who's sharing rooms?"

"Well, Ri's with Mickey and Esperanza's with her boyfriend. Matt, Benji and Theo are sharing a room. Clara decided she can be with Laura and Gracie because they apparently adore her over webcam. Alex, Max, Madden and Felix are also sharing a room because Alex is about as mature as a ten year old."

"And what about Liana and me?" Noel asked, having a very uncomfortable feeling about the answer.

"Well… you see… we might not have enough rooms… so… we might have to out you guys in the same room."

Oh god. Holy crap. His holiday was ruined.

**So yeah, tell me what you think!**

**So do you want to see some Noel/Liana later? I'm going with the thing that they're really not related at all. Also, do you want to see more Riley/Mickey?**

**For those who are confused:**

**Percy and Annabeth: Riley, Noel and Clara.**

**Nico and Thalia: Liana and Matt.**

**Travis and Katie: Laura and Grace.**

**Connor and Lou Ellen: Benji, Alex and Madden.**

**Jason and Reyna: Max (Maximus).**

**Piper and unknown god (will be revealed): Theo.**

**Leo and Khione: Esperanza.**

**Leo and Gaia: Felix.**

**So tell me what you think! Please, I run on reviews!**


End file.
